"Preliminary findings indicate both of the individuals died as a consequence of mauling injuries," State Medical Examiner Dr. Kris Sperry confirmed to Channel 2 Action News.

 

Channel 2 Action News reporter Tom Regan took pictures of several of the wild dogs believed to be responsible for the attack.

 

Authorities said the couple found dead by Jehovah's Witnesses along a road in rural Oglethorpe County Saturday morning were 77-year-old Lothar Karl Schweder and his wife, 65-year-old Sherry L. Schweder.

 

County Coroner James Mathews said the bodies were found near the Schweders' home, where Sherry Schweder often walked pets along the road. Mathews said they both loved animals and may have been looking for a pet that wandered away.

 

Officials in Oglethorpe County said they believe the couple was attacked by a pack of wild dogs that were living around an abandoned house in the area.

 

Police said animal control officials would be out Monday afternoon to round up the dogs.

 

A friend of the family said Lothar Karl Schweder was a retired University of Georgia German professor. William Potter, head of UGA libraries, said Sherry Schweder worked at the school's main library.